1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for printing a component by a digital printing method.
2. Background Description
With the further development of electronic data processing, in particular of graphics programs, components comprising a wide variety of materials are increasingly being printed by digital printing methods in order to provide them with predetermined patterns that provide them, for example, with a high quality appearance. In order to produce components of this type cost-effectively in large production runs, printing devices are necessary that make high printing sets cost-effectively possible, even when printing components with surface areas tilted towards one another.
In the present application, a digital printing method is understood as printing methods in which a liquid in the form of individual droplets of liquid is sprayed from at least one spray nozzle onto individual surface elements of a surface to be printed with electronic control by at least one digital data record in order to produce a predetermined pattern on the surface, which pattern can also have the appearance of a homogeneous coloring. Different colors can be produced by different coloring liquids that are sprayed in the form of droplets onto a surface element or directly adjacent surface elements. Different coloring intensities can be produced by the number of droplets reaching a surface element or directly adjacent surface elements and/or—recently—by different volumes of the droplets of liquid. A typical example of a digital printing method is the so-called inkjet printing method, in which droplets of ink or coloring liquid are sprayed from a print head with several spray nozzles. The droplets are produced and sprayed by thermal evaporation (bubble jet) or with the aid of piezoelectric elements.
A printing device with a transport unit is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,282, on which a plurality of components to be printed are arranged next to one another and one behind the other. A bar extends transversely over the transport unit, which bar is adjustable in height and along which a nozzle head with several ink nozzles can be moved. The bar is adjustable in height so that components with surface areas of different heights can also be printed.
A device for printing objects located on a transport device moved in a linear manner is known from EP 1 038 689 A, which contains several stationary nozzle bars extending transversely over the transport device. Each nozzle bar is equipped with ink nozzle heads such that it is possible to print therefrom objects located on the transport device over the entire width thereof.